Jewelry Queen
Nguyet Mahrenholz
Discover the artistry of jewelry design with our free CAD designs. Craft intricate pieces with precision and creativity, unleashing your imagination to sculpt every detail. From elegant engagement rings to delicate necklaces, our intuitive tools empower you to bring your jewelry visions to life with ease. Dive into the world of CAD designing and create stunning jewelry that reflects your unique style and craftsmanship, all at your fingertips and completely free.
As the long reign of the four Georges drew to an end, the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of York and Strathearn (son of George III) and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, ascended the throne. Alexandrina Victoria, the young princess, crowned Queen Victoria of England, wafted in like a fresh breeze across Britain and held her subjects in thrall until her death in 1901. The 63 years and 7 months of her reign became known as the Victorian Era, throughout which Queen Victoria influenced everything from politics to fashion to furniture to the mores of the day.
Jewelry was produced in great quantities for the queen to wear to balls and entertainments, marking the birth of each of her nine children, birthdays and anniversaries, and as gifts to be presented at family marriages and births. Detailed records exist in the archives of the jewelers who produced them; R. & S. Garrard and Rundell, Bridge & Co. In addition, trained jewelers and artisans flooded into Britain as a result of unrest on the continent. Many of these fine artisans went to work producing jewels for the Crown.
We invite you to celebrate the arrival of summer with our Summer Solstice Box. Embrace the vibrant, extroverted energy of the season with this thoughtfully curated collection that connects you to nature and the magic of community.
Our Jewelry Travel Case is designed for the trailblazing beauty who seeks adventure and wants her collection to experience the ride, too. Crafted from double-sided black velvet, this sophisticated travel companion organizes and protects 30+ pieces so you can explore the spirit of nature while expressing your unique style.
Take the hassle out of gift giving with Acid Queen Gift Certificates. Available in a variety of values ranging from $25.00-$350.00 and custom amounts upon request. Quick and delivered right to your inbox.
"As I sat at my first make-shift jewelry table, surrounded by bones, chains and charms scattered everywhere, I never dreamed my part-time jewelry hobby would have grown into my full-time passion, Acid Queen Jewe..."
The design and craftsmanship of this medallion are distinctive, unique, and beautifully rendered. I have gotten many comments and complements on the necklace. Will definitely buy another piece from Queens Metal when I am able to splurge on myself.
Queens Metal's roots can be traced back to a tiny apartment in New York City. Artist Krista DeJoseph envisioned creating a line of jewelry identifiable by it's mixture of masculine and feminine, and its clean, industrial lines. Deep into the night, while her roommates slept, DeJoseph played with shapes and experimented with metalsmithing techniques, eventually fabricating her first jewelry collection. She named her company "Queens Metal" after the NYC borough she loved, and added the slogan, "Bold Jewelry for Fearless Women."
More than a dozen years later, Queens Metal has relocated from NYC, but has stayed true to it's roots. Our industrial-inspired jewelry is still crafted completely by hand using traditional metalsmithing techniques...
"There is nothing better than a day at my jewelers bench. I wake up every morning and can't wait to sit down and get to work. I pour myself some coffee, turn on music or a podcast, close the door to my studio and everything else just fades away.
Some of my most popular designs are pieces I've been making for years, and I find the production process very calming. But when I am working on a new design or a one-of-a-kind piece, it's almost like an adrenaline rush -- I get so excited and anxious to see the finished product. No matter what I'm making, I enjoy every second of it. I'm consider myself ridiculously lucky to make a living doing what I love."
Adriane Dalton: You somewhat recently retired after 35 years as a professor in the Craft + Material Studies department at the University of the Arts. Is Queen Bee your first solo exhibition post-retirement?
Several of the works on view, such as Immanence and Tardigrade and Clan, are dated with a span of two years. How much time was spent in preparation for the show, and how long do you typically spend on the most complex works?
A piece is complete when I am no longer bothered by any part of it. I have it out on my counter, so that I see it every morning. If it bothers me, I change it. Because I work intuitively, I feel that I can go back into a piece and work on it between shows, or before a show is ready for installation.
Nature provides much of the materials used in your work and also informs your aesthetics. How did your affinity for the natural world begin, and how did it find its way into your jewelry?
I have also worked in wood since I took my first course in jewelry at Skidmore College. Earl Pardon encouraged me, and so my love affair with wood began. I became a carver in graduate school, where I was encouraged to work subtractively. Carving was my means to form.
Sharon Church: What do I mean by intuitive? I respond to what is happening before me. I do not plan things from the beginning; rather, I begin with an idea, then discovery and invention take over. I am constantly challenged, which means that I try processes or techniques in materials that test my problem-solving abilities. Each work combines my knowledge of work with my discovery or development of technique. I try everything I know to resolve a piece, and some of those ideas are not good. At that point, I must refocus and try again.
I use plaster to hold things together when I solder, and I use lavish amounts of yellow ochre to keep old seams from flowing. I like to use diamonds because, covered in boric acid and alcohol, they can take the heat of continued soldering. And so I keep working until I feel that a piece is complete.
I wish I were a better designer, then things might not take me so long to make. I work to delight myself with the unknown and to solicit from myself a beauty response. How can I know, in advance, what that will be? I have plenty of work that did not live up to my expectations, and those pieces sit in a drawer until I throw them away. If they have precious metal in them, I will reclaim them.
I work in wood, but mostly Castello boxwood, which takes dye very well, and ebony. I work with familiar woods, because each wood has its peculiarities that must be considered. Primarily, I work with Castello boxwood because I have become familiar with it.
Sharon Church: Often my kitchen becomes an extension of my studio, and I used cooking techniques as metaphors when I taught. As I was experimenting with paper clay, I grabbed jars of spices to make the clay look and feel more exciting. Not all of my additions work, but the peppercorns were fabulous to see as I filed through them, and the tarragon and basil were relatively simple additions to make. I now feel free to add mica, acrylic color, and all kinds of things that can be filed and sanded to the paper clay, which is very adhesive and wonderfully simple to work with. The great challenge is in keeping the spheres as round as possible when filing, then drilling through the center!
As one of your former students, I distinctly recall you placing emphasis on drawing or sketching as deeply important to a creative practice. That said, I was somewhat surprised that the exhibition announcement for Queen Bee features a drawing rather than a piece of jewelry. What compelled this choice, and how does drawing fit into your jewelry practice?
I have a drawer that is full of the natural world; findings that I pick up from the street or while I walk in a natural setting. I used them as models for that drawing because drawing is a way in, my first encounter with form. I draw to closely observe and prepare to carve, then I put the drawing away and carve freely, responding to what is happening before my very eyes.
It was a wonderful brooch, one that Sienna loved, but on the coldest day of the year it literally leapt out of my arms and onto a Philadelphia sidewalk. It broke. Unbelievably, my friend was declared cancer-free THAT DAY! So my challenge was to make the two pieces into two brooches that were fabulous. So, yes, the two brooches, His Cultivar and Her Cultivar are related.
At the same time, I had been suffering from a frozen shoulder, which is quite painful and takes a long time to heal. Finally, I felt good, so one morning I went down to the studio and made that forged wire top to His Cultivar.
I am intrigued by the piece entitled Pocket Nut. Jewelry is carried around on the body or attached to clothing, but this object, still precious in scale and materials, is designed to be carried with someone. What is the story behind this piece? Are there other pocket objects or nontraditional jewelry forms in the show?
Sharon Church: I have always been interested in making work that wants to be touched, and that is precious. What better place to enjoy a piece of jewelry than in your pocket, where you can privately feel, investigate, and enjoy a form? My father used to jiggle the coins in his pocket, and he carried a silver dollar that was minted in the year of his birth. I was fascinated when he emptied his pocket at the end of the day. I made Pocket Nut to be similarly enjoyed.